Microsoft has released KB5089573, an optional preview update for Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2, and it is packed with changes that meaningfully improve daily usability. While this update does not land with the fanfare of a major feature drop, it addresses several long-standing pain points. The headline additions include a tangible performance boost for core OS surfaces, a new shared audio feature allowing simultaneous Bluetooth audio output to two devices, and enhanced transparency in Task Manager.
What Performance Improvements Does KB5089573 Bring?
The most impactful change in KB5089573 is a series of under-the-hood optimizations that make Windows 11 feel snappier. Microsoft states that the Start menu, Search, and the Action Center will all launch more quickly after this update. While no specific percentage improvements are provided, the focus on perceived speed—the responsiveness of the most frequently accessed UI elements—is a welcome shift. Since the release of version 24H2, Microsoft appears to be prioritizing a faster, more fluid foundation over adding large, flashy features, an editorial choice that directly refutes the “luggage” reputation Windows 11 has sometimes carried.
This preview update also includes refinements to the Microsoft Store, improving download performance and bandwidth efficiency. Additionally, the system’s resilience when encountering download failures via Group Policy has been strengthened, contributing to a more reliable overall experience.
How Does the New Shared Audio Feature Work?
A major new capability in this update is Shared Audio. This feature allows a single Windows 11 PC to stream audio simultaneously to two separate Bluetooth devices. Powered by Bluetooth LE Audio and its Broadcast Audio technology, users can pair two headphones, speakers, or even hearing aids to share the same audio feed.
To use Shared Audio, you simply open the Quick Settings panel, select “Shared Audio,” and then choose two previously paired LE Audio-compatible devices. The audio stream is then shared instantly. This is a functionality that has been standard on smartphones for years, and its arrival on Windows closes a significant feature gap. It is perfect for watching a movie with a partner without disturbing others, or for ensuring multiple users with hearing aids can follow the same audio source. A critical note is that this feature requires two Bluetooth devices that support the LE Audio standard. It will not work with traditional Bluetooth Classic headphones.
Task Manager Gains NPU Monitoring and a Separation Column
Task Manager receives several important updates as well. For users of modern hardware with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), a new column has been added that shows NPU utilization. This visibility is available across the Processes, Users, and Details tabs, allowing users to see exactly which applications are leveraging AI acceleration and how much. A corresponding graph has also been added to the Performance tab to visualize NPU activity over time, finally shedding light on what was previously a black-box component.
Furthermore, a new “Separation” column has been introduced. This column identifies applications that are running within an AppContainer, a security sandbox. For security-conscious users, this provides immediate insight into which processes are isolated from the rest of the system. A bug has also been fixed where the CPU speed displayed on the Performance tab of Task Manager would show an incorrectly high value after a virtual machine resumed from a suspended state.
“KB5089573 does not introduce huge new features but carefully strengthens the OS foundation. The improvements to app launch times, Bluetooth flexibility, Task Manager transparency, and camera freedom are all answers to issues that have been pending for too long. Waiting for the June Patch Tuesday rollout is not too late.”
Camera Now Supports Multiple Concurrent App Access
For anyone who has ever seen the dreaded “Camera is in use” error, KB5089573 brings a long-awaited fix. The built-in Windows Camera framework now supports multi-app camera functionality. This means multiple applications can access the camera stream simultaneously. A user can now be in a video conference call while simultaneously recording the same feed with another app for later editing or archiving.
Previously, the first app to capture the camera would lock out all others. This change resolves that bottleneck. For enterprise customers, a new Group Policy setting allows IT administrators to toggle between basic camera mode and multi-app camera mode at a device level, providing granular control over the feature.
User Folder Naming Control and Windows Hello Refinements
Two often-overlooked but frustrating user experience issues are also addressed. The first concerns the Windows setup experience. Previously, the user folder in C:\Users\codecode was automatically named using the first five characters of your Microsoft account email address. This often resulted in unwanted folder names that required complex registry edits to fix. With KB5089573, the setup screen now allows you to specify your own custom name for the user folder, eliminating this cumbersome post-setup task.
Windows Hello has also been refined. On lock and sign-in screens, if facial recognition or a fingerprint reader is enrolled, the system will now prioritize and display these methods more consistently. Additionally, the Windows Biometric Service has been optimized to resume faster after exiting Modern Standby, making authentication quicker and more reliable when waking a laptop.
USB, Storage, and Battery Life Stability
Several hardware-level fixes are included as well. Displays connected via USB4 docks or hubs will now turn on more reliably when a system resumes from a standby state. For the USB3 stack, a new recovery mechanism has been added to handle unexpected hardware failures, improving overall stability for all connected USB devices.
In the Storage settings, a change has been made to when a UAC prompt appears for viewing temporary files. The prompt now appears when a user actually selects the option to view the files, rather than upon opening the settings page, preventing a jarring early interruption. The Dev Drive creation dialog now supports specifying sizes in gigabytes (GB), simplifying configuration for developers. Finally, the update introduces multiple improvements to reduce battery consumption from sensors and HID devices that were unnecessarily keeping the hardware active, which should positively impact laptop battery life, particularly on ultraportable models.
Windows Search and Font Display Improvements
Windows Search is now more efficient, requiring only two characters before it begins returning results. This is a minor but noticeable improvement when searching for files with short names. For users working with academic or global documents, the rendering of diacritic marks (like accents) in the Times New Roman font family has been improved for both Greek and Cyrillic characters, and a font positioning issue has been corrected. The desktop icon shortcut arrow now reads more reliably, and column widths in Task Scheduler are now saved after a session, eliminating the need to re-adjust them each time.
Overall Stability and the Nature of This Update
Beyond the specific features, KB5089573 includes a broad set of reliability fixes for the sign-in screen, the lock screen, the File Explorer touch gesture handling, and stability when changing themes. This is an optional preview update (a C-release), meaning it will not install automatically. It can be downloaded from Settings > Windows Update or will be rolled into the formal Patch Tuesday update scheduled for June. For users who have been waiting for more control over their user folder, frustration-free camera access, or the ability to stream audio to multiple devices, this update is a substantive and welcome refinement of the Windows 11 experience.
